Solder cutting machine



Sept. 7, 1943. D. KELLER SQLDER CUTTING MACHINE Filed May a, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet l R O T N E v m Sept. 7, 1943. D. KELLER SOLDER CUTTING MACHINE Filed May 8, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR Sept. 7, 1943. D. KELLER 2,329,056

SOLDER CUTTING MACHINE kgqmw Patented Sept. 7, 1943 SOLDERCUTTHNG MACHINE David: Keller, Brooklyn, N. Y. v Application ay 8, ls iaseriai No. 486,264

.7 Claims. 401. 164-451) This invention relates to a machine for cutting sheet solder into flakes; and an object of the invention is to provide automatic mechasize; corresponding to the particular piece required for a certain soldering operation. Another objectof the invention residesin adjustable features of the machinewhereby the size of the flakes of solder may be changed to meet a variety of requirements thereby avoiding. unnecessary waste. Other'objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent throughoutthe following specification. j a

,In the manufacture of jewelry, and particularly insignia forv the armed forces, of the nation,

a large quantity of silver. solder isflused. 'and which is relatively expensive. Manufacturers sometimes cut sheets of solder by hand into particles of different sizes. An operator would then select a flake that appeared to be the proper amount for hispurpose. This method of cutting the solder sheets is slow and wasteful. The particles lacked uniformity where many of a .similar size are needed for a particular operation in large quantity production. w These difiicultiesare overcome and the above objects attained by the'machine of: this inven- 'tion in which a sheet of solder may be inserted between a pair of intermittently driven ,rollers that first out the sheet into ribbons and then feed the same beneath a pivoted knife blade adapted to be oscillated in staggered relationto the periodic movement of said rollers, and cut the ribbons transversely of the, sheet into. flakes of the desired sizes.

..The rollers are driven by a one-way ball:

clutch operated by the upward movement of the knife blade, with intervening lost 'motion that may be varied to a desired extent in order to regulate the amountof metal cut oiifv by the knife. The

element for'operating the rollers as-viewe'd in the direction of the arrows of Fig. 2, and with its cover plate -'ren ove'd. Y

Fig.4 is an end view of the n'iachine looking invention will be more fully understood. from the following detail description reference. being hadto the accompanying drawings formnism for this purpose that will rapidly cut a the line -5 of Fig. 2, and,

sheet of solder into particles of a predetermined ron the right "of Fig. 1,' with the knife shown in section and with parts omitted.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional Fig.- 6 is astll further enlargedgdetail section on theline 6 -6 of Fig. 5. g "Referring to the drawings, g

supported on aframe consisting of af'be'd plate i'lan da pedestal l2 secured thereto and having integraluprights l3 and 63' which are joined at their upper ends by'a cross'bar l4. Journal'led in the uprights lii and i3 is a transverse shaft i5. A gear I6 is secured to the shaft at one end and the driven member i 'i' 'offa ball clutch l8 is secured to the opposite end of shaft l5. .A ro11er I9 is keyed to shaft I5 between the uprights l3, l3, and is formed witha plurality of equally spaced integral rings '20 with annular grooves 2i therebetween. ,Rolle'r I9 is suitably sp aced between uprights I3, l3 by means df'c'ollars 22.

Beneath shaft i5 and parallel thereto in ver; ticalalignment," is a shaft 23 which is journalled in blocks 24 'slidably mounted in' slots 25' formed re'spectivelyin theuprightsjw, l3, andla'djusts able therein by means of bolts 26 and ilo'cknuts 21 Secured to shaft 23 is a gear;28 whichis inmesh with gear I6 so that when motion is im:

;. parted to shaft l5 in a counter-clockwise dir'ec-T tion] as viewed in Fig. 4, shaft 23will be rotated clockwise. A roller 38 is keyed to shaft and: is similarly formed with a plurality of rings 31, and a series of'annular grooves 32 therebetween which are vin alignment with the rings 20 of the roller I9.- Likewise, rings 31 ,arealigned with the groovesj il of roller [9. Spacing collars -(notshown) may be used for this purpose such as -the ,co11ars 2 2,forroller I9. By suitably ad justing .the ,b'olts ..26,.the respective, rings andv grooves of thefrollers may be brought into slightly overlapping relationship so. that Whena s'heet'of solder S is drawn through the rollers it will 'be slit where a. ring on one'roller enters a groove. on the other, the resulting ribbons of r metal corresponding iniw'idthfto that of the.

rings and grooves. r Means are provided for'guiding: the.v sheet of. solderinto the bite of the rollers. FQIQthlS purpose there is a table 23 supported across the front of the machine onextensions 34 of the uprights l3, 13. A transverse groove taforms a slideway for a pair of adjustable guide plates 36, e'ach having arib 31 fitting 'withinthegroove 35. QTablei'iii-l has slots 38 .throughwhich thumb screws 39 pass, the latter being threadedin the View on the mechanism is r within the groovesZl beneath the shaft l5,"and

extend eccentrically above the roller l9. Simi-.- larly, stripper rings 42 are mounted in the grooves 32 of roller 30 above shaft 23, .an'dextend eccentrically below roller 30, one set. f

verging walls of notches 64. A cover plate l1 provides an enclosing outer wall for the notches 64. An arm 12 projects radially from the rim 10 over and into the path of travel of the knife 48. v

It will now be apparent that upon each revolution of the crank disk 54 knife 48 Will be rocked and will engage and lift arm 12, the latter being retracted by a spring 13 secured to its outer end and. to the .upright l3.'; and that the counterclockwise rotation of' member 60' (Fig. 3) as a result of thelifting of arm 12, will simultaneously ...eflect the rotation of member ll, through the clutching action of the balls H, and also the rings being staggered with respect to the'other" set as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. They. are all thin enough respecting the depth of the grooves 2| and 32 to allow slight clearance beyond theshafts. l5 .and 23 and their associated rollers in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4.

Meansare provided for limiting the retractile movement of the arm 12 toward the knife 48 consisting of a bolt 14 threaded through arm 12 and projecting beyond thesameso as to engage the flattened side of. astop pin l5 extendingfrom. upright 13..- By suitably-adjusting the ,R from. following the contour. of the. respective rollers when. revolving. in -thedirection. indicated by the arrows,.andtoward which they are inherently' thrustby the ringsllcor. 32. The: stripper rings. rotate idly in the. same .directionas. their associatedrollers,v but. any tendency teswmg backwardly out of. their cross-axial alignment with shafts l5..an'd..23 is arrested by the. adjacent flanges 43.. and. 44 extending perpendicularly in opposite. directionsflfromrthe inner. edge of table 33- F1angel43 .iseslot'ted. at43for. the. passage of..the sheetoffsolder.

. .A-sheei' plate 45..extends across the machine between uprights. l3, l3 .and is .supportedon the cross bar [4 to which it istseciired. It's forward vertical .face is aligned .with'thefront edge -of..slots.-46 ..and41 f in the-uprights, and withinwhich slots there is mounted a'knife 48 for cuttinggtheribbonsv R.v transversely. Knife 481s pivoted at one endi'toithe upright [3. by. a bolt 49Jhavingaspring SCI-coiled around it effective for urging th'elknife against the vertical face of'the. plate 45. The other. end of'the knife 48lis. .pivoted' at 5! to a. dependingpitman 52 whichlispivote'd at53 to a crankdisk 54'mounted on ashaft 55 Tclriven throughsuitable reduction gearingby a .motor 56' supported on 'the'bed plate H; -.Ba'll.clutch'l8consists of the driven member lTland a.jdriver member 60. Member I'Iis'a disk with..bosses-.6l .and 62 .projectingrespec-l tively from its opposite faces, and-bored through to fiton shaft: l'5 to which'me'mberj. I! is secured bya set. screw 63. Its circumference is cut away to "form j. notches .64" with defining. surfaces '65 andLSB. "Surfaces 65"constitute shoulders spaced 120;degrees apart, and arebored to. receivejpins' 5T urged. outwardly by springs "68; .The surfacesJ'GG'. are tangent tola circle'centeringyin. the bore'through'bcssestl and62;

.Memberfifl. consists of a cylindrical casing having. a wz'illiEQ- bored Jthreceiv boss 6 l J of. member I.1,I .and..about which. boss memberlifl isladapted. toaoscillate. lEx'ten'ding outwardly. fromLwalL 69' is'anannula'r. rim T0 .whichovei lies. the perimeter" oflmember .fT andllformsan .outer. wallfor the notches 164. ,,Eachf.no-tch' L64 contains a ballf'llt Theballs arangagdby-thepiris Gland thereby. urged away. .from surfaces '65' toward the .con-.

bolt.. 'l4--thetop -.-surface. of I the knife: 48 will engagearmin.earlieror. later as the case'may be, and .clutch l8- wil1. .be. operated accordingly to a greater. or/lesser: extent thereby effecting a corresponding movement ,of. rollers I9 :and 30 during whicha predetermined. length of the rib bone Riof. solder sheets will be fedbeyondthe cutting. edge of the-knife 48' to be. subsequently cut intoL-the relatively smallflakesfF indicated inlFig'; 5.. It willlbelunderstood that during the downward cutting movement. oflmife148 the rollers' I9 and 34.. remain stationary. because the return movement of member. 60 does not actuate member: I thismanner theficutting move.-

ment .of' the. knife .'48fw'ill be staggeredwith respect to: the feeding movement of the rollers, and since. the knife'isthe controlling. factor, such relative movement of the parts will at .all times be .synchronized'regardless of changes in the adjustment of bolt 74; to change-the sizes of the cutfiakes.

"The ribbons that alternately diverge upwardly as the result'of-the cutting thrust of rings 32 are deflected toward the'shear plate 45 by a guide member .lfilsuspendedacross the machine between uprights l3, I3'. For thislpurpose membei'l16f is fashioned vtoprovide a downwardly inclined.portion T! along which the ribbons slide toward and through the narrow space 18 between. the shear plate45 and the adjacent lower edgel'll' of member 15. Conversely, the other ribbons that diverge downwardly engage and slide along the top of shear plate.45'. They likewise then pass through the space 'l8-an'd into the'pathl of'the knife 48. The lower edge 11' of member. 'lfiidefining. 'the'top of the space 18, prevents all of '.the ribbons R.from following. the. upward movement of knife '48.

The embodiment 'of' the invention shown herein. is intended to be illustrative and not to be vtaken'in. a sense of limitation, as various modifications'within the scope 'ofthe appendedto those adaptedlto out said ribbons transversely into.

flakes,=.means for oscillating said knife blade, and actuating means responsiveto. movements of the knife blade and operated thereby--alternately with respect to the cutting stroke thereof. for intermittently driving said rollers.

2. In a machine of they class described, a pair of geared rollers fashioned to advance and cut a sheet of metal into ribbons, a pivoted knife blade adapted to out said ribbons transversely into flakes, means for oscillating said knife, blade, and actuating means for intermittently driving said rollers comprisinga driven member operatively connected to one of said rollers, and an oscillatory into ribbons, a table provided with adjustable means for guiding and aligning the edgesof said sheet with the edges of the corresponding rings of one-way driver member, the latter being respon sive to movements of said knife bladeand oper ated thereby alternately with respect to the cutting stroke thereof. r

3. In a machine of the class described, a pair of geared rollers fashioned to advance and cut a sheet of metal into ribbons, a pivoted knife blade adapted to out said ribbons transversely into flakes, means for oscillating said knife blade, actuating means for intermittently driving said rollers having a member thereof engageable by the knife blade and operated alternately with respect to the cutting strokethereof, and means for'changing the normal relative position of the engageable member of said actuating means and said knife blade to lengthen or shorten the'feeding movement of said rollers and correspondingly change the size of said flakes. I

4. In a machine of the class described,a pair of geared rollers fashioned with a plurality of engaging rings and intermediate annular grooves operative to advance and cut a sheet of metal into ribbons, a pivoted knife blade adapted to out said ribbons transversely into flakes, means for oscillating said knife blade, actuating means for intermittently driving said rollersresponsive to moveinents of the knife blade and operated thereby alternately with respect to the cutting stroke thereof, a plurality of stripper rings larger in,

and registering the edges of said sheet'with the edges of the corresponding rings of said rollers, a pivoted knife blade adapted to out said ribbons transversely into flakes, means for oscillating said knife blade, actuating means for intermittently driving said rollers 1 responsive to movements of said knife blade and operated thereby alternately 1 with respect to the cutting stroke thereof, means said rollers, a pivoted knife blade adapted to cut said ribbons into flakes, crank means for oscillating said knife blade, ball-clutch means for intermittently driving said rollers comprising a driven I member operatively connected to one of said rollers, and an oscillatory driver member mounted I on the driven member, ball; elements effective therebetween for one-way operation, an arm extending from the driver member into the path of said knife blade andengageablethereby to effect said intermittent movement of the rollers alternately with respect to the cutting stroke of said knife blade, a-stop for said arm to provide lost motion between the same and the knifeblade,

spring meanseffective for urging said arm toward said stop, adjusting means vfor increasing or diminishing the extent of saidllost motion to commensurately change the feeding movement of the rollers and the size of said flakes, a plurality of stripper rings larger in diameter than said rollers and loosely mounted in the respective grooves thereof so as to extend eccentrically away from said rollers in opposite directions, whereby said ribbons will pass'between said groups of stripper rings and be divergently stripped from for stripping said ribbons from the respective grooves of said rollers, and further means for guiding said ribbons into the cutting plane of said knife blade.

6. In a machine of the class described, a pair of geared rollers fashioned with aplurality ofengaging rings and intermediateannular grooves operative to advance and cut a sheet of metal said grooves, and means for convergently guiding said ribbons'into the cutting plane of said knife blade.

'7. In a machine of the class described, a pair of geared rollers fashioned with a plurality of engagin rings and intermediate annular grooves operative to advance and cut a sheet of metal into ribbons, a table provided with adjustable means for guiding and aligning the edges of said sheet with the edges of the corresponding rings of said rollers, a pivoted knife blade adapted to out said ribbons transversely into flakes, crank means for oscillating. said knife blade, ball-clutch means for intermittently driving, said rollers comprising a driven member operatively connected to one of said rollers, and an oscillatory driver member mounted on the driven member, ball elements efiective therebetween for one-way operation, an arm extending from the driver memberinto the path of said knife blade and engageable thereby to effect said intermittent movement of therollers alternately with respect to the cutting stroke of said knife blade, a stop for said arm to provide lost motion between the same and the knife blade, spring means effective for urging said arm toward said stop, adjusting means for increasing or diminishing the extent of said lost motionto commensurately change the feeding movement'of the rollers and the size of said flakes, a plurality of stripper rings larger indiameter than said rollers and looselymounted in the respective grooves thereof'so as to extend eccentrically away from said rollers in opposite directions, flanges supported in confronting relation to said stripperrings adapted to stabilize said rings during the actuation of the rollers, whereby said ribbons will pass between said groups of stripper rings and be divergently stripped fromsaid grooves, and means i for convergently guiding said ribbons into the blade.

cutting plane of said knife DAVID KELLER. 

